Meet the Nichols Family

If you visit Nichols Farm, you might see David, Jeanette and Andrew Nichols harvesting grapes. But you won’t hear them. They’ve been at this long enough that each knows their part — David on the harvester, Jeanette driving the tractor, Andrew on the bin — and they can communicate through eye contact and hand motions. That’s what more than 40 years farming together will do.

“Well, I think to be a farmer, you have to have a strong desire to farm. It’s not just a job.”
David Nichols

Coming from David, that’s an understatement. For him and his wife Jeanette, farming isn’t a job, it’s life. And unlike a job, life doesn’t come with breaks. “There’s always something to do on the farm,” David says. Growing the grapes, picking them, trimming the vines post-harvest, then starting all over again. “It’s a never-ending cycle,” he says.

“Like a lot of things in life, you take it for granted sometimes. Then other times, I’m sitting on a tractor, look around, and I’m like wow. I can’t believe I get to do this.”
Andrew Nichols

Maybe it’s genetic, because Andrew has inherited his parents’ passion for grape farming. He is the fifth generation of Nichols to grow grapes on this land. For Andrew, it’s rewarding to see people these days caring more about what’s in their food and who grew it. “When I tell people that we grow grapes for Welch’s, and explain to them that Welch’s is a co-op, it makes them want to go buy some.”

“What makes it taste so great is the sun, the rain, and the soil. And we put a lot of love in it here in Lewiston.”
Jeanette Nichols

That’s how Jeanette explains why Welch’s 100% Grape Juice tastes the way it does, and how it can be so delicious without any added sugar. “We harvest and press the grapes right when they reach that point of delicious flavor that makes Welch’s so distinctive,” she says.